When Jonathan “Tig” Willard (pictured) was driving from South Carolina to Tennessee on Tuesday to fight for a roster spot with Tennessee Titans, he noticed an SUV that had flames shooting from its rear. Inside the vehicle was a woman, her three young children and their dog.

Instead of picking up his cell phone and dialing for help, the linebacker took matters into his own hands by saving the family himself, reports TigerNet.com.

Remarkably, the woman and her children were not aware that their vehicle was on fire until Willard began honking his horn to alert them about the situation. By the time the unidentified mom had pulled over, her SUV was engulfed in flames. The woman told the 23-year-old, 240-pound NFL player that she did not stop her SUV at first because she did not think her vehicle was on fire.

Willard and another driver who had witnessed what was going on acted quickly to pull the three children and dog out of the vehicle to safety. The young player then went back for the mom and took her to safety. The SUV wound up becoming totally engulfed in flames within mere minutes of the rescue and blew up four times after the family was rescued.

Willard mentioned to TigerNet that when he spoke to the mom, she appeared almost trance-like but kept thanking him profusely for saving her family’s life. Afterwards, Willard hung around long enough to make sure that the family was OK before resuming his drive to Nashville.

Meanwhile, Willard who received a $2,000 signing bonus from the Titans, will be vying for a roster spot with the team during the preseason. After his latest heroic deed, karma might be smiling upon him in a HUGE way!